But Bill Del Monte wasn’t most people and, for him, those events 110 years ago were more than a story because he lived through them. Bill, the last survivor from the earthquake and fire, was a baby at the time of the disaster and grew up as SF was rebuilt around him, his family opening an Italian restaurant that is still popular today. He has just passed away, a few days shy of his own 110th birthday, and has been mourned by many across San Francisco including the mayor who described him as ‘a true friend of the City’.

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